RandyJames: need support

[Dejavu]

I can relate to so much of what you've said! Not recognizing yourself in the mirror or in pics, not wanting to be around people, the constant dizziness...I'm right there with you. 

 

My windows are only partial and so few and far between. Whenever I have a tolerable day, I pay dearly for it. On Friday, I had noticeable improvements in depression, fatigue and dizziness. Yesterday, not so good and today, right back into hell.  It's devastating each time it happens. I really don't want to do this anymore.

[RandyJames]

20 hours ago, Dejavu said:

I can relate to so much of what you've said! Not recognizing yourself in the mirror or in pics, not wanting to be around people, the constant dizziness...I'm right there with you. 

 

My windows are only partial and so few and far between. Whenever I have a tolerable day, I pay dearly for it. On Friday, I had noticeable improvements in depression, fatigue and dizziness. Yesterday, not so good and today, right back into hell.  It's devastating each time it happens. I really don't want to do this anymore.

I'm glad to hear you had a good day on Friday.  No doubt that's a sign you are improving slowly but surely!  I know it's a huge let down after you crash back into bad symptoms but you'll get back and your good days will last longer and longer.   

[RandyJames]

Last night I had the best nights sleep in months.  I didn't have any limb jerking while falling asleep or as I lay in bed for awhile before getting up.  The anxiety has been a bit less in general and this morning it seemed even a bit more decreased.  The dizziness and cognitive issues are still just as bad as is the muscles stiffness.  

 

I had an MRI of my cervical spine taken yesterday and have an appointment with my orthopedist this coming Monday to see what's what.  Apparently the CT scan they did in the ER wouldn't show as much as an MRI according to the doc.  I would be pretty relieved if something shows up that some physical therapy could address.  

[Frogie]

3 hours ago, RandyJames said:

Last night I had the best nights sleep in months.  I didn't have any limb jerking while falling asleep or as I lay in bed for awhile before getting up.  The anxiety has been a bit less in general and this morning it seemed even a bit more decreased.  The dizziness and cognitive issues are still just as bad as is the muscles stiffness.  

 

I had an MRI of my cervical spine taken yesterday and have an appointment with my orthopedist this coming Monday to see what's what.  Apparently the CT scan they did in the ER wouldn't show as much as an MRI according to the doc.  I would be pretty relieved if something shows up that some physical therapy could address.  

I’m glad to hear you are doing a wee bit better. 

 

I hope you will see more improvements soon.

 

Keep us posted on what the MRI says. I wish you the best of luck.

 

Take care,

 Frogie xx

 

 

[RandyJames]

Last night the limb jerking was back and this morning it was pretty bad.  This morning as I lay in bed my face would pull into a grimace and my lips were pursing as well s lots of random limb and trunk jerking.  It's not constant but just random.  The jerks only last for a moments.  I find it strange that this happens as I just lay in bed as I am not sleeping or falling asleep at that point.  I may be just in an in between point.  I should just get up the moment I wake up to avoid the morning issues.  I'm going to ask my GP about having a sleep study done.  I also came down with a cold yesterday so that may have something to do the jerking picking up again.  Having had the one good night was really nice and gives me hope for more improvements.  Regardless, I had worse nights and days before I started tapering so I do not attribute it to the dose decrease. 

 

Yesterday was a fairly decent day altogether aside from the cold.  I managed to get a lot done. I took my wife to her dentist in the morning and then again in the afternoon for fillings.  I had a light jog and did some light weight lifting and in the evening I picked up my Lexapro at the pharmacy and went to the grocery store.  My memory and dizziness were just as bad but I actually laughed a few times and was just a bit better in general.  If this continues I may wind up trying for another 10% drop for my next decrease.  

[JB1234]

Wow you’ve got a lot of really strong symptoms.  It’s great that you are up getting stuff done and jogging. 

 

I hate sleep studies. I wonder what your doctor thinks it’s going to tell him.

[RandyJames]

1 hour ago, JB1234 said:

Wow you’ve got a lot of really strong symptoms.  It’s great that you are up getting stuff done and jogging. 

 

I hate sleep studies. I wonder what your doctor thinks it’s going to tell him.

Thanks JB.  I've been doing three days of exercise a week for 2 weeks now.  One of my biggest fears is that I am not getting enough blood to my brain.  I decided I need to commit to getting my blood pumping to see if it helps at all and to just get some endorphins going.  I've also read in a lot of success stories both here and online that exercise is a huge plus for recovery.  My routine so far is to jog around the block then 10 pushups, 10 crunches, 10 leg lifts, then curling light weights.  It's all I can manage at the moment but I hope I can strengthen up.  

 

I'm only thinking of asking for a sleep study at this point.  I'm pretty sure I have sleep apnea as I have woken up sort of suffocating from time to time.  Also I am hoping a sleep study might shed some light on the limb jerking and facial ticks I am getting at night.  They are probably medication related but it could be something else.  Being so paranoid about medical stuff and reading online I've found that the vertebral artery runs up through the cervical spine on both sides and threads though the vertebrae themselves and feeds the back of the brain with blood.  One of the areas these arteries feed is responsible for controlling involuntary movements.  With my neck so stiff and the dizziness and cognitive stuff I'm worried these arteries aren't getting enough blood to my brain especially with all the weird nighttime movements.  I have an appointment with my GP this Wednesday so I'll see what he thinks.  I get to find out about the MRI on Monday so maybe that will show something.  

 

[JB1234]

Good luck on the sleep study and MRI. I didn’t know you had sleep apnea. True sleep apnea can wreak havoc on everything because it’s like someone waking you up at night by smothering you. I had a CPAP before that was not calibrated properly and it made my daytime sleepiness 10 x worse.

 

you are into reading like me and finding all sorts of symptoms that might be connected to some condition. Still can’t hurt to eliminate certain things.

 

The neurofeedback was very interesting I felt a sudden sense of calm during the neurofeedback with stim.  Got a rebound hyperacusis and Akathisia immediately after. Headache in late afternoon. Felt ok next day.

[RandyJames]

Today is week two at 18mgs.  Last night I had zero limb jerking which was a pleasant surprise as the night before was terrible.  I even lay in bed this morning with no jerks going off.  My anxiety has improved by maybe 40%.  Focus and cognition as well as dizziness are still just as bad but no worse.  

[brassmonkey]

I'm glad to her that things are settling down, those jerks are no fun at all.  Might I suggest your trying a Brassmonkey Slide for your next reduction. 2.5% a week for four weeks and an additional 2 week hold.  Many of our members have found that this will really reduce the severity of the symptoms caused by each reduction.  It will give a taper rate of 10% every six weeks which is a pretty good pace to maintain.

[Dejavu]

So glad to see things levelling off for you. Just keep holding and I'm sure it will continue to improve. Maybe consider slowing down or decreasing the amount of the next cut like Brassmonkey suggests?

[RandyJames]

Holy crap!  I had my follow up for my MRI just now and it actually revealed significant problems.  I don't remember exactly everything he said but I have severe stenosis of the spinal canal at c5-c6 and c6-c7 and moderate stenosis at c4-c5.  The disc heights is also bad and is pinching the nerves branching out to my arms.  Also I have completely lost the curve of my neck which he said can cause a bunch of weird symptoms.  At the first visit he didn't think anything was really that bad but he is now recommending a double disc replacement.  I asked him if any of this could account for dizziness and the muscle tension and he said it absolutely could.  He did say that the cognitive issues would be really unlikely to be related though.  I'm still not convinced about that as I swear it eels like the blood flow to my head is being decreased somehow.  

 

He wants me to try a cortisone injection in my neck for the time being so I'm going to try that and see if it helps any.  Unfortunately I'll have to have some anesthesia for the procedure.  I've read here that anesthesia can exacerbate WD and mess with the meds so I'm worried about that.  

 

I was expecting him to say my MRI wasn't that bad as no one ever seems to find any problems with me.  I feel sort of vindicated.  It's bad news but really good news as well! Lol.  

 

I'm off to my daughters school play now.  She's graduating in June so it's the last school play I'll get to see her in. 😪 

[RandyJames]

It's week three at 18mgs.   Yesterday and today have been really bad.  Dizziness is off the charts.  My neck is really bothering me so it's hard to say if it's the meds or from my neck.  Yesterday was really bad in general and then we went to Dave and Busters for a pre Mother's Day celebration.  My wife is really sweet and always makes sure we do something the kids will enjoy.  That place is so hectic I started feeling way worse shortly after getting there and by the time we left I thought I'd need a stretcher, lol.  Looking down at the games really bothered my neck and the noise level was killing me. 

 

I feel like communicating is getting harder.  Not only am I having trouble finding words I'm having trouble speaking.  My jaw and tongue muscles feel weird and aren't working right especially after drinking cold water or after walking.  It's really weird.  Another thing that's gotten worse is my heart skipping.  It isn't constant but it happens at least 5 or more times a day now.  It seems to happen when I take a breath in.  My sleep is still doing good and the morning anxiety is still less intense. 

 

I'm going to see the neck surgeon this coming Thursday.  He's a brain and spine specialist so I can't wait to ask him about some of my symptoms and if they could be neck related.  If he thinks a double disc replacement will help I will do it in a heartbeat.  I know not everything is coming from the neck but the neck and shoulder tension, pain and dizziness could certainly be.  They definitely feel related.  

 

I also have my sleep study scheduled for the 20th.  I've gotten pretty busy with doctors lately, that's for sure.  

[RandyJames]

 

On ‎5‎/‎2‎/‎2019 at 9:47 PM, JB1234 said:

Good luck on the sleep study and MRI. I didn’t know you had sleep apnea. True sleep apnea can wreak havoc on everything because it’s like someone waking you up at night by smothering you. I had a CPAP before that was not calibrated properly and it made my daytime sleepiness 10 x worse.

 

you are into reading like me and finding all sorts of symptoms that might be connected to some condition. Still can’t hurt to eliminate certain things.

 

The neurofeedback was very interesting I felt a sudden sense of calm during the neurofeedback with stim.  Got a rebound hyperacusis and Akathisia immediately after. Headache in late afternoon. Felt ok next day.

Thanks.  I had the MRI and it showed severe stenosis at c5-c6 and c6-c7 as well as a total loss of neck curvature.  The doc recommended a double disc replacement surgery.  I'm seeing the surgeon this coming Thursday to get his take on everything.  If the surgeon thinks a surgery would help with the dizziness and neck tension I'll have it done.  I have the sleep study scheduled for the 20th.  That should be interesting.  

 

Have you been back for any more neurofeedback treatments?  It sounds promising that it produced the calming feeling at least while it was being administered.  

[RandyJames]

On ‎5‎/‎4‎/‎2019 at 12:33 PM, brassmonkey said:

I'm glad to her that things are settling down, those jerks are no fun at all.  Might I suggest your trying a Brassmonkey Slide for your next reduction. 2.5% a week for four weeks and an additional 2 week hold.  Many of our members have found that this will really reduce the severity of the symptoms caused by each reduction.  It will give a taper rate of 10% every six weeks which is a pretty good pace to maintain.

Thanks brassmonkey.  I'm sure thinking about it.  I got away with one big drop but it may be better to drop slower now than find out another 10% would kick off a reaction.  I've been extra dizzy for the last couple of days but it could be from my neck and not the meds.  I'm going to see a surgeon this Thursday about a double disc replacement and I can't wait to get his opinion on the dizziness.  I hope it's from the neck and a surgery would fix it.  My MRI was ugly.  The spinal chord as being pushed on and sort of crooked by the discs.  Regardless, the last thing I need is a WD reaction on top of everything else.  Last night I had the most limb jerking I've had in awhile but still less than a couple of months ago.  

[Dejavu]

8 hours ago, RandyJames said:

I had the MRI and it showed severe stenosis at c5-c6 and c6-c7 as well as a total loss of neck curvature.

Me, too! Stenosis (moderate, not severe) at c3-c4 and forward head posture (lack of neck curvature). I haven't done a surgical consult yet but I've had great luck with chiropractic. A suggestion: while you're awaiting your surgical consult, look into getting an orthotic device called a Denner Roll or D-roll. It's a hard foam rubber device that you put under your neck and lie on it for several minutes each day. It "trains" your neck to curve again and it also provides some pain relief and feels awesome. If memory serves, it cost about $35. 

 

Other than your neck issues, how are you feeling?

[RandyJames]

18 hours ago, Dejavu said:

Me, too! Stenosis (moderate, not severe) at c3-c4 and forward head posture (lack of neck curvature). I haven't done a surgical consult yet but I've had great luck with chiropractic. A suggestion: while you're awaiting your surgical consult, look into getting an orthotic device called a Denner Roll or D-roll. It's a hard foam rubber device that you put under your neck and lie on it for several minutes each day. It "trains" your neck to curve again and it also provides some pain relief and feels awesome. If memory serves, it cost about $35. 

 

Other than your neck issues, how are you feeling?

I'm sorry you have neck issues also.  Do you think any of your dizziness could be coming from your neck?  I'm hoping that in my case it is and surgery will put it right.  It definitely feels like they could be related.  My head feels like a 500 lb weight on a pencil lol.  

 

I'm really glad I went and had the MRI done.  The discs are actually pushing into the cord, sort of redirecting it a little.  They are also pinching on the nerves that go down my arms as well.  This could account for the stiffness in my muscles according to the doctor.  I'm seeing the doctor who may do the surgery on Thursday and I can't wait.  The doctor I saw first doesn't operate on necks so he referred me to this guy who is a brain and spine specialist.  I've had so much discomfort and pain in my neck for years.  It feels like my neck is in a vice all of the time and very weak and awkward.  I hope a surgery will bring relief from it all.  

 

I actually ordered a neck traction pillow from Amazon the other day.  It's very similar to the d-roll you recommended.  The first doctor told me I should try it as well as a cervical traction device but I'll wait to see what the specialist says abut that one lol.  

 

I haven't been doing as well the last few days.  My dizziness is much worse and the cognitive problems haven't eased up at all.  I'm really depressed also.  Feeling very worried about everything.  My biggest fear and complaint is by far the cognitive issues.  Everything else is a discomfort while my brain function is everything.  The only thing that remains improved is my sleep though I'm still having limb jerking while falling asleep and waking up.  I'm having a sleep study done on the 20th.  If nothing else I suspect they will confirm that I have sleep apnea.  

 

I have my next cut in dosage coming up this weekend.  I'm going to drop by 2.5%  like brassmonkey recommends.  I got away with one big drop but I'm afraid of really messing things up right now. 

 

[RandyJames]

WARNING( Gross MRI image attached LOL)

 

I saw the surgeon today and he confirmed my neck is in very bad shape.  You can see in the attached image where the discs are smashing into my spinal chord.  He said it was actually too far gone to be able to do disc replacements and said I need a fusion instead.  There is too much calcification and weakened bone for the implants to take.  He wants to do the surgery within the next couple of weeks.  He said that he fully believes my dizziness and headache is caused by what he's seeing and explained how the nerves branch out to the occipital area and even called where my head was hurting before I told him.  He also asked me If I was having balance trouble and difficulty walking before I brought it up so it sounds like he's really on to something here.  He didn't think me cognitive problems were linked directly to the neck but did say that many of his patients have similar problems and he thinks it could stem from distraction from the pain and dizziness.  He said I should notice a big difference in pain and balance right after surgery and the dizziness should ease up over the course of recovery from surgery.  I am really hopeful about this.  I know for a fact that some of my issues are from the SSRIs but it sounds like to some measure I could find at least some degree of relief from this surgery.  The only problem is figuring what's what.  

 

I have a dose decrease coming up this weekend but I think I am going to hold at 18 mg until some point after the surgery which should be in the next 1-2 weeks.  I think it will be much safer that way.  I'm very worried about the anesthesia aggravating my CNS but I'm sure not going through it awake!  I'm also told I will need to be on morphine at least for the first day after the surgery and I'm worried about that also.  I may not need to stay on painkillers after that though so that's good.  

 

 

[Gridley]

1 hour ago, RandyJames said:

I think I am going to hold at 18 mg until some point after the surgery

 

I would definitely hold.  

 

If you are going to need antibiotics, you should ask your doctor to avoid fluoroquinoles, such as Cipro and Levaquin, which can cause bad reactions for anyone in antidepressant withdrawal.

 

Fluoroquinolone antibiotics

[Dejavu]

Wow! Your neck really is a mess, isn't it? I'm happy that you're going to get some relief through surgery. I have a friend who had a lumbar fusion and she's doing great.

 

Withdrawal is totally evil and I have a theory that it attacks your most vulnerable areas. In folks who had anxiety issues prior to withdrawal, anxiety is ramped up. In my case, I have awful vision - uncorrected it is almost legal blindness - and I'm having extreme dry eye and vision issues.  Since your neck was already compromised, withdrawal is attacking you there. It sounds silly, but it just seems like it zeroes in on what's already bad and makes it worse.

[RandyJames]

On ‎5‎/‎16‎/‎2019 at 4:53 PM, Gridley said:

 

I would definitely hold.  

 

If you are going to need antibiotics, you should ask your doctor to avoid fluoroquinoles, such as Cipro and Levaquin, which can cause bad reactions for anyone in antidepressant withdrawal.

 

Fluoroquinolone antibiotics

Thanks Gridley.  I forgot that antibiotics could cause a reaction in withdrawal.  I'm going to have to slip in a few pre weighed Lexapro to the hospital as well.  I have no idea what they would do to get me 18mgs except for liquid which I don't want to try even for a couple of days incase it doesn't jive with me.  My surgery is scheduled for this Wednesday.  I am really hopeful to at least get id of the pain and stiffness.  🤞

[RandyJames]

3 hours ago, Dejavu said:

Wow! Your neck really is a mess, isn't it? I'm happy that you're going to get some relief through surgery. I have a friend who had a lumbar fusion and she's doing great.

 

Withdrawal is totally evil and I have a theory that it attacks your most vulnerable areas. In folks who had anxiety issues prior to withdrawal, anxiety is ramped up. In my case, I have awful vision - uncorrected it is almost legal blindness - and I'm having extreme dry eye and vision issues.  Since your neck was already compromised, withdrawal is attacking you there. It sounds silly, but it just seems like it zeroes in on what's already bad and makes it worse.

They scheduled my surgery today for this coming Wednesday!  That was way faster than I thought it was going to be.  I read really good reviews of the surgeon online.  A couple of the reviews mentioned that they had dizziness with their neck pain and that it was gone after surgery so I'm really really hoping it will go away.  The neck and shoulder pain and tension should ease up afterwards and I'll take what I can get.  

 

I couldn't agree more that WD agitates existing health issues.  In the case of my shoulder and neck pain just the added tension from WD could make it way worse.  In the case of your vision WD adds so many more eye related symptoms onto what you already experience.  When I had quit CT my vision was just wrecked.  I could see but my eyes felt strained like I had been reading by candlelight for a year straight.  

 

I hope you're feeling well and thanks so much for checking in on me.  

[RandyJames]

I had my surgery and am sad to say I woke up and my left arm was numb and still is.  The surgeon said it could just be inflammation from surgery and that it should go back to normal.  It could also be something called c5 palsy in which when the spinal cord is given more room to move as in my surgery that the chord can migrate a little and this can cause the c5 nerve to stretch and it needs to heal but sometimes does not. There is some pain in the arm and shoulder but mainly just lack of feeling and the weirdest weakness.  It's like certain muslces have just turned off.  I'm having a hard time not freaking out over it.  The incision really doesn't hurt much at this point so that's good anyway.  

 

I am also feeling way more dizzy since the surgery.  My morning anxiety is back with a vengeance and I told them at the hospital not to give me quinolone antibiotics and they have me on Bactrim which is part Cipro I just found out today.  Flippin idiots.  The surgeon gave me a prescription for Neurontin but I didn't filling it.  The pain isn't even that bad just the numbness is a nightmare.  I hope all of this works out.  The dizziness may be much worse as I haven't been able to move my neck yet.  I have to wear a brace for a couple of months.  I'm also on Norco which I'm sure is making me loopy and cant help with the dizziness.  I haven't been able to smoke cigarettes either since Tuesday and that's driving me crazy.  I'll try and quit for good.  I wont be able to smoke until the bone implants have grafted so it will be a few months.  I knew the surgery had risks and that while I was already having Lexapro issues that things could get really bad but the docs had explained that with how my spinal cord was pinched and the discs being pretty much gone that one good jolt to my neck could have really seriously injured me so it needed to be done. 

[Dejavu]

Hey, RJ, don't sweat it - all bets are off right now until you recover. Dizziness could be an after effect from anesthesia, side effect of the norco, or from nicotine withdrawal. I ct'd cigarettes 10 years ago and I was stupid dizzy - I'm talking about room-spinning dizzy - for about 4 days. I still remember it. 

 

Regarding the arm numbness, I think its much more likely than not to go away. Your spine is angry right now, and needs time to settle out. When my brother had his heart issue last November, they did a cath procedure to look for blockages, and the cath went into his wrist. After the procedure, his thumb on that side was numb for 3 days. Even the doctors began to wonder wtf was going on. But it woke up on its own; it just needed time. Just concentrate on recuperation and I know everything will fall into place. 

[RandyJames]

On 5/27/2019 at 10:38 PM, Dejavu said:

Hey, RJ, don't sweat it - all bets are off right now until you recover. Dizziness could be an after effect from anesthesia, side effect of the norco, or from nicotine withdrawal. I ct'd cigarettes 10 years ago and I was stupid dizzy - I'm talking about room-spinning dizzy - for about 4 days. I still remember it. 

 

Regarding the arm numbness, I think its much more likely than not to go away. Your spine is angry right now, and needs time to settle out. When my brother had his heart issue last November, they did a cath procedure to look for blockages, and the cath went into his wrist. After the procedure, his thumb on that side was numb for 3 days. Even the doctors began to wonder wtf was going on. But it woke up on its own; it just needed time. Just concentrate on recuperation and I know everything will fall into place. 

Thank you Dejavu for being so supportive.  I really needed these words of encouragement.  I feel like I'm going to have a nervous breakdown.  I'm so tired of feeling weird and uncomfortable.  

 

I hope you're doing well.  Have you had anymore windows?  

[wantrelief]

1 hour ago, RandyJames said:

I'm so tired of feeling weird and uncomfortable.  

Me too, RJ.....you are not alone.  I am sorry you are going through all of this and the post-surgery recovery too (Dejavu comments are very reassuring in regards to your healing post-surgery).  Hang in there, RJ.  

[RandyJames]

1 hour ago, wantrelief said:

Me too, RJ.....you are not alone.  I am sorry you are going through all of this and the post-surgery recovery too (Dejavu comments are very reassuring in regards to your healing post-surgery).  Hang in there, RJ.  

Thanks wantrelief.  It's so frustrating to have no improvement from surgery and to actually wind up with a dead arm.  It's still to soon to say for sure if it will stay this way.  I'm still having symptoms of a compressed cord and that worries me.  

 

How have you been?  I haven't chatted with you for awhile.  I sure hope you have had improvement.  

[wantrelief]

Hi RJ,

 

On 5/29/2019 at 2:58 PM, RandyJames said:

It's still to soon to say for sure if it will stay this way.

Exactly!  I know it is hard but try to keep in mind that what is happening is more than likely part of a routine post-surgical recovery.

 

On 5/29/2019 at 2:58 PM, RandyJames said:

How have you been?  I haven't chatted with you for awhile.  I sure hope you have had improvement.  

It is very sweet of you to ask.  I am ok....everyday is tough but I am trying to think of it as one day closer to recovery.  Unfortunately I haven't noticed any improvements but hopefully will down the road.  

 

Best wishes for your recovery,

WR.

[RandyJames]

1 hour ago, wantrelief said:

Hi RJ,

 

Exactly!  I know it is hard but try to keep in mind that what is happening is more than likely part of a routine post-surgical recovery.

 

It is very sweet of you to ask.  I am ok....everyday is tough but I am trying to think of it as one day closer to recovery.  Unfortunately I haven't noticed any improvements but hopefully will down the road.  

 

Best wishes for your recovery,

WR.

I'm sorry you haven't noticed any improvements.  Like you said, everyday is one more day closer to recovery.  It could be that as your dose gets lower your CNS will reach a point where it is noticing the lack of meds more and starts to compensate in positive ways and not just by firing up from it's absence.  Slow enough not to shock your system to hard but low enough for good changes to occur.  I think it's a good sign that you didn't have increased symptoms from your last taper.  I really think as you slowly get lower your system will reach a point where it sort of says, "Hmmm....Time to balance things out," and really start to put things right.  Good days are coming your way.

[wantrelief]

Thank you so much for all that you wrote, RJ.....I am hoping you are right and at some point my brain will catch up.  I hope you are doing as well as can be.  

[Dejavu]

RJ, how are you coming along? You haven't posted in a while.

[wantrelief]

I've been thinking about you, RJ, and hoping you are doing ok.

[Peachy]

On 3/18/2019 at 8:45 AM, RandyJames said:

am having tolerance withdrawal while taking Lexapro.  It started up in February while not even lowering my dose.

Hey! I think I’m also in tolerance WD, have been for 3 years. I started having WD symptoms without touching my dose. How do you know / think you are in tolerance WD? Do you retreat going back on? I’m at a place I’m considering trying another medication...

[RandyJames]

I haven’t posted for almost two years.  I felt I was spending too much time on the site and once we moved I tried to keep myself busy with the new home. The good news is that I wound up stabilizing while tapering.  I was feeling a lot of relief for a good 8 months or so.  The bad news is that I messed up my taper and am feeling pretty bad again.

 I had started my taper at 20 mg.  The 20 mg tablets actually weigh roughly 33.7 mgs.  I am currently at 5.7 mg pill weight which must be something like 3.5ish mg lexapro.  I was feeling much better from around 11 mg pill weight to 6.8 mg.  I had started out doing Brass mobiles taper and wound up making drops like from 9.0 to 8.8 based off of how I felt.  Sometimes I held for several weeks or more and sometimes less.  It was working well for a log time.  
 

Well, I was feeling like I was really on my way and then made some terrible mistakes.  At 6.8mg, which I held for around a month, I forgot a dose somewhere around the first week of March. I didn’t notice any trouble though.  I then dropped faster than I had been due to overconfidence.  I made several drops throughout The rest of March and early April.  These drops took me from 6.8 to 5.7.  I held at 5.7 and just after Easter I started getting ramped up symptoms.

 

So many symptoms were so much better.  I was sleeping just fine.  The morning anxiety was gone.  My muscle twitching was all but gone.  My brain fog was much improved.  Now I am falling asleep, usually around 9:30 and waking up around 3:00 with anxiety and weird racing thoughts and do not fall back to sleep. The anxiety is worse early but stays all day.  My heart is skipping again.  My stomach is in knots.  I’m sure this is because I dropped to fast and missed that dose way back in March.  I’m so mad with myself.

 

I don’t know what to do.  Do I stay at this dose and just ride it out until I stabilize again or do I try to up dose?  I’ve been at 5.7 mg for a couple of weeks.  Also, I have been tapering this whole time using 20 mg tablets.  I felt safer sticking to the same size pill to taper as I was worried there would be a discrepancy switching to tens.  Is it ok to use 20mg tablets all the way down or could this be throwing things off?

 

please, any feedback would be so appreciated. Thanks.

[RandyJames]

I would really like to hear from anyone who was doing pretty good on their taper but wound up dropping to fast or otherwise messing up and landing in a huge wave.
 

 I was doing pretty well for a good 10 months with much less symptoms and ended up dropping too large a drop in early April and I’m feeling like I’m at square one again.

 

My timeline needs a lot of updating also.

 

 

[Altostrata]

Please update your signature with your recent drug changes.

 

To answer your question, please look around in the Introductions forum. There are many people who tried tapering too fast and had to adjust dosage and stabilize.

 

How are you measuring 5.7mg? You might want to go to 6mg and see if that helps.

 

If you're tapering Lexapro, you might get the prescription liquid to taper, maybe take 5mg of your dose in tablet form and the rest in liquid to begin.